Hopper trailer



June 13, MCVlCKER HOPPER TRAILER Filed July 19, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet l efemre 3 A7 V10? 8/" 1N VENTOR.

June 13, 1939. D. MGV ICKER 2,162,353

HOPPER TRAILER Filed July 19, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR.

Y I By d ATTORNEY.

June 13, 1939. J. DfMcv|KER 2,162,353

HOPPER TRAILER Filed July 19, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet s fi 2r 5 i 1 1mm; "'IIIIIIII/IIII/l 8 50 27 Z v H.

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented June 13, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE tenth to James Application July 19,

1 Claim.

This invention relates, as indicated, to hoppertrailers, and particularly to that type of hopper which is mounted on a chassis, which chassis is to be pivotally secured to the rear of a truck.

The principal object of my invention is to provide means for opening and closing at least one gate situated at the bottom of the hopper and from a point remote from said hopper.

Another object of my invention is to provide auxiliary means for more accurately determining the amount of material which may be allowed to flow from the hopper to the ground.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a means for moving the aforementioned auxiliary means into and out of a working position.

Other objects of my invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention then consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claim.

The annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detail certain mechanism embodying the invention, such disclosed means constituting, however, but one of various mechanical forms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawings:

Fig. 1 represents a side view of my improved hopper-trailer attached to the rear of a truck or tractor.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged portion of the hopper showing more'clearly the manner of operating the gate mechanism.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially on the line indicated by 3-3 of Fig. 2, and discloses in particular the Z bar which encloses the side of the hopper.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged side view of my hopper showing the gate in an open position.

Fig. 5 is a side view of my hopper showing the auxiliary regulating means secured thereto together with the means for operating same.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the auxiliary hopper taken substantially on the line 6-6 on Fig. '7.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged part sectional part elevational view taken substantially on the line 1---! of Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a sectional View of the means for raising and lowering the auxiliary hopper taken substantially on the line, indicated by the numerals 8-8 of Fig. 7.

It is a well known fact that a number of hop- Lowry, Lodi, Ohio 1937, Serial No. 154,417

pers of the type to which my invention applies have been on the market for some time; however, in order to open and close the gate, it has always been necessary for the operator to leave the cab of the tractor.

The method which I have employed to operate the gate allows the operator to remain sitting in the cab of his tractor, thereby saving a considerable amount of time.

In certain instances specifications of road 10 builders demand that the amount of material flowing from the hopper to the ground be measured more accurately than can possibly be done by the mere use of a gate to allow the material to flow.

In order to comply with specifications of this type, I have placed an additional hopper which is suspended below the main hopper having therein an opening which is covered by a graduated plate slidably mounted thereon, as will be seen as the description proceeds.

It has also been noted that the ordinary type of gate usually, covering an opening in the bottom of a hopper of this type, always allows a certain amount of material to be lost due to the fact that the gate cannot be closed tightly. I have been able to overcome this difliculty merely by placing on each end of my gate a Z bar, one side of which is able to cover a portion of the side of the hopper when the gate is in a closed position, thereby making it impossible for any of the material to be so lost.

Referring now in particular to the drawings, and especially to Fig. 1, the truck or tractor body is indicated generally by the numeral I. To the rear of said truck body is secured my hoppertrailer, generally indicated by the numeral 2. This trailer is pivotally secured to the tractor in the usual manner at the point, 3.

The hopper body, 4, is supported in the usual manner by the chassis bars, 5.

The usual lateral opening in the bottom of the hopper is covered by the gate, 6, and is maintained in that closed position by means of an arm, I, to which is secured a bar, 8, and is pivotally secured at 9 to a fixed part of the trailer body and has a toggle action in that when the chain, [0, and bar, II, have moved past dead center, the arm, I, will contact the stop, l2, thus maintaining the gate, 6, in a closed position.

To the top of the arm, I, I have secured an endless belt or rope, I3, which extends rearwardly from the arm through the pulley, [4, then forwardly through the pulley, I5, then rearwardly through the pulley, l6, and thence to its original starting point on the arm, 1.

It will be obvious that by pulling forwardly on the lower portion of the rope as it passes through the pulley, IS, a rearward motion of the arm, I, will result in the chain, l0, passing dead center, 9, thus allowing the gate to swing open under the influence of its own weight and the weight of the material within the hopper. The gate and arm will then be in a position as shown in Fig. 4. In order to close the gate, it will be merely necessary to reverse the above operation by pulling forwardly on the upper portion of the rope as it passes through the pulley, l5, in order to impart a forward motion of the arm, I, which will then maintain the gate, 6, in a closed position as the chain, l0, passes dead center, 9, in its upward path.

It will be obvious from the above and from the location of pulley, [5, that the operator may remain in the cab while operating the rope, l3.

It will also be obvious that the gate, 6, may be placed toward the rear instead of the front of the hopper or a gate in each position may be used and operated in the manner above described without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In view of the fact that a hopper of this type must occasionally be operated when the trailer is at right angles to the truck body and since it is not advisable to manufacture the rope or cable, I 3, from an elastic material it is necessary to provide same means whereby any undue tension on said cable will not result When the trailer is in this position. To overcome this difliculty, I have placed a standard, I1, immediately behind the cab of the truck and secured a spring, 18, to the top thereof. The pulley, l5, through which the cable, l3, passes is then secured to the outer end of spring, l8. When it becomes necessary to operate the hopper at any angle to the truck, which might ordinarily induce an undue strain on the cable, such strain will be taken up by the spring, l8.

As above mentioned, to overcome the difficulty of loss of material due to certain open spaces at the end of the lateral opening of the bottom of the hopper because of the inability to close the gate, 6, tightly, I have placed on either end of said gate, 6, a 2 bar, I9, which as will be more clearly seen by viewing Fig. 3, closes tightly about the hopper body, 4, thus making it impossible for any material to be lost when the gate is closed.

The distance which the gate, 6, may be opened may be regulated by the chain, 20, which is secured at one end to the bottom of the gate and at the other end to a hook, 2|, in the side of the hopper body by merely changing the number of links between said hook and the bottom of the gate.

As stated before this method of determining the amount of flow of material from the hopper to the ground in any particular time is not accurate enough for certain specifications and it has therefore been necessary to employ certain other auxiliary means to regulate this fiow more accurately. This I have been able to do by suspending an auxiliary or secondary hopper, 22, below the hopper body, 4. This secondary hopper, 22, is shown more clearly in Fig. 6 wherein it is shown by the dotted lines in a working position. The opening, 23, may be made larger or smaller by sliding the graduated plate, 24, which is slidably mounted on the lower side of the auxiliary hopper either toward or away from the apex of the hopper.

I have provided this auxiliary means with a wheel, 25, on either side, which wheels will contact the ground when the hopper is lowered into a working position. It will be obvious, of course, that any other means for supporting said hopper on the ground, such as runners or the like, may be used without in any way departing from the spirit of my invention.

The operation thus far explained in regards to the auxiliary hopper, 22, will be to lower said hopper until wheels, 25, reach the ground. Assuming then that the plate, 24, has been regulated so that the opening, 23, is as desired, gate, 6, is then opened in the manner hereinbefore described, and as the truck moves forwardly the operator can be assured that proper amount of material is being delivered to the ground.

When the auxiliary hopper is used, it has been found advisable to insert an I-beam, 26, in the side of the hopper body, 4, on each side of which are placed four small wheels, 27. Two of these wheels on each side of said I-beam will contact the rear and two on each side will contact the front of said I-beam as shown more clearly in Fig. 8. Said wheels are pivotally mounted in channel, 28, the lower end of which is secured to the upper part of the hopper, 22, by means of these angles, 29, and arms, 30, which arms are pivotally secured to said channel, 28, and said angles, 29.

It has been found necessary to insert these pivotally mounted arms, 30, in order to impart a hinge action to the hopper, 22, so that said hopper may function properly when going over rough roads.

I have determined as the best method for raising and lowering the auxiliary hopper is to use a pawl and ratchet arrangement, 3|, the shaft of which is connected by means of a cable, 39, to the upper part of the channel, 28, and which passes over a pulley, 33. Inasmuch as the wheel arrangement above described is placed on each side of the hopper body, 4, it is a comparatively easy matter to raise and lower the auxiliary hopper, 22, out of and into working position.

It will, therefore, be seen from the foregoing description that in my improved hopper-trailer, I have not only been able to regulate more accurately the flow of material from the hopper to the ground but have also provided a means of operation the gate of the hopper body itself more quickly and easily than the ordinary hopper in use at the present time.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of the one here explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, providing the means stated by the following claim or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

A hopper-trailer comprising in combination a chassis, a hopper body supported thereby, a lateral opening in the bottom of said body, a gate normally covering said opening, 2 bars secured to either end of said gate, means cooperatively associated with said Z-bars to operate and maintain said gate in either an open or closed position, and means to actuate said first named means from a point remote from said body.

JESSEi D. MCVICKER. 

